Mother Adventurer Hunter-gatherer

To me, being an ‘influencer’ isn’t about sell, sell, sell or getting my hands on freebies! It’s about inspiring, encouraging and championing a way of life we should all be embracing.

Social media is a great platform for sharing ideas, showing you exactly how to ‘do’ it and meeting likeminded people. So you’ll find me on there (and here), giving big sister vibes … letting you in on my ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’. Giving you a nudge to not let work, location, Mummy duties, fitness, or the kids’ moods, be an excuse to not do the things you really want to!

Visibility is accessibility! Sometimes, us girls, need to see other women out there ‘doing it’ first.  

I’m a cheerleader for women learning about and enjoying sports which are often dominated by men - because they can and should be enjoyed by everyone! Over the years I’ve answered many a question on “how or where do I start” from women of all backgrounds, helping to break down the perceived barriers to entry and mis or lack of information.

Now I want to motivate Mums (all parents really) to embrace getting back out into the field. On their terms, not just doing what they think they should be doing or relegating themselves to the side lines. To inspire them to make micro adventures part of their and their kids’ lives.

Motherhood is a constant 24 hour dynamic – which we love and embrace wholeheartedly – although if you’re not cooking, cleaning, sorting, driving, organising and keeping your kids alive and happy, you’re thinking about it!

BUT that doesn’t mean we should push our passions to one side. Hunting, fishing and exploring are too big a part of my life to side-line.

When Monty was born I needed to find a way to keep doing the things I love (and are essential to living an outdoors life, connected to where my food comes from).

I had to accept this would look different to my pre-Monty days, but having a child wasn’t going to stop me from being me. I was excited to share my love of the outdoors, adventuring and fieldsports with him - I just needed to find a way to make them work for both of us. I want him to learn about the things which matter to me, in the hope they will matter to him too.

Dad taught me to shoot and fish as a child, so knowing where my food comes from has always been part of my life. My passion for shooting was reignited as a newly qualified lawyer in London: I needed to make time again for things that felt ‘like me’.

It’s my love of nature, living off the land and how this ties into the tradition of many fieldsports which led me to work with the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the UK’s largest shooting and conservation organisation, first as a council member and later as their Vice Chair.

The great David Attenborough highlights that if our kids don’t know about and appreciate nature, they won’t understand or value it, so they won’t protect it… and if they don’t, who will? I’d add, if we don’t pass on our knowledge to the next generation, who will? For me the best way to do this is to ensure they are invested but also grounded in nature. We need to make it fun, to educate and engage, and to make it part of who our kids are.

We can’t continue living in such a disconnected way from our food!

We don’t need UPFs (ultra processed foods). We shouldn’t allow anonymous and untraceable meat. We should not be harming our sea beds. We must not disregard welfare standards, just because we want a constant supply of our favourite foods on demand at all hours of the day.

We need to take responsibility for where our food comes from - hunting, fishing and gardening allow me to do this.

There are many misperceptions about fieldsports, often deliberately pedalled by those against the rural way of life. I hope sharing a bit about my life will help to show how responsible hunting and fishing is an ethical choice, and one you can support even if you don’t want to pull the trigger or cast a fly yourself. 

I’m a ‘money where my mouth is’ girl so I’m a judge for both The Purde Awards for Conservaton and the Scottish Country Sports Tourism Awards. My work with BASC also often sees me engaging directly with politicians and the press, to reach different audiences.

I’ve worked with Beretta, the world’s oldest gun manufacturer, since 2015.

This collaboration has brought me life-long friends, including a fabulous group of like-minded women from across Europe. Sharing amazing experiences together and cementing a friendship which feels more like a sisterhood: we’re now supporting each other through motherhood and life’s big milestones.

Full disclosure I sometimes get paid for the content I share about Beretta and these hunting trips (it helps fund Monty’s and my adventures). However, I’ve worked with Beretta for over a decade, so my thoughts, reviews and content are genuine and not ‘paid for positivity’.

I also mention lots of my ‘go to gear’ for my mini expeditions with Monty. These are items I use myself, fit into our lifestyle and make life easier or better. Mostly I’m just shouting these products out because I love them. I’ll never promote anything I don’t personally know, use and trust … and if there’s any benefit to me I’ll be upfront about it.